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Holiday

Holiday

1938
Romance, Comedy
1h 35m
Free-thinking Johnny Case finds himself betrothed to a millionaire's daughter. When her family, with the exception of black-sheep Linda and drunken Ned, want Johnny to settle down to big business, he rebels (imdb)
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Holiday

1938
Romance, Comedy
1h 35m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 68.74% from 633 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(633)
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Rated 06 Feb 2009
86
84th
So much of this movie is completely predictable, yet it hardly matters with so many well delivered funny lines, and the charm that Grant and Hepburn each have. I also have to mention that Lew Ayres, while playing a pretty one dimensional supporting character, did a damn fine job himself.
Rated 01 Oct 2010
6
55th
Too corny to be considered a classic for me but still an enjoyable film that is carried by Cary Grant, as usual. Any scene without him is lacking and some of Hepburn's speeches are so lame that I wanted to punch her. This movie won't change anyone's life but it isn't a bad way to spend 90 minutes. If nothing else, Cary Grant is always highly enjoyable.
Rated 18 May 2016
73
90th
The acting and the direction are perfect. I'm particularly taken with some of Lew Ayres' scenes with Katherine Hepburn. IMHO better than The Philadelphia Story.
Rated 28 Jun 2016
40
19th
This is not a comedy. For some reason I just couldn't get in to this. The dialogue is pretty bad in some places and the whole final 15 or so minutes were a chore to sit through.
Rated 30 Jun 2017
80
86th
More of a Grant-Hepburn vehicle than a particularly hilarious screwball comedy. But they're great together, and the story is well-written.
Rated 13 Oct 2017
80
77th
Not really a comedy, grant is what you'd expect but it winds up being hepburns movie and im ok with that. After a bit of mild fun it abruptly takes on a heavier tone and becomes a much better drama with humor than trying to be a lighthearted grant movie. Ayres begins out of place but becomes amazing, esp a scene between him and hepburn where her emotions are spelled out in the scene without ever being openly expressed. Ends with typical sudden hollywood bow of the era
Rated 27 Dec 2017
60
26th
Another heavy-handed tribute to throwing off the repressive yokes of expectations and money-making. Possibly more meaningful at the time, I find the unrealistic lack of subtlety tiresome. However, some fun characters save the movie and make it watchable. And for me, only Cary Grant can bring energy enough to handle Katherine Hepburn for an enjoyable movie experience (sorry, Spencer Tracy).
Rated 01 Mar 2020
75
83rd
Criterion compares this to Philadelphia Story; I had high expectations for PS but not for Holiday so I enjoyed this more. Cary Grant is a lot more lively here. This film makes a lot more sense in context of Depression. They should have dropped more hints about Julia not being the right fit. Instead her turn at the end felt abrupt and rushed to allow Katharine Hepburn to move in. Both women's hat game on point. Fav scene: Hepburn playing with the giraffe.
Rated 14 Jul 2023
60
54th
It's highly unlikely, but I do wonder if Lew Ayres as Ned Seton Jnr inspired Tim Holt's portrayal of George Amberson Minafer in 'The Magnificent Ambersons'. In any case, Ayres' performance is a delightful surprise when you're expecting Hepburn and Grant to be the main event. I have to say, Hepburn in this film looks so much like 1990s Parker Posey (or vice versa).
Rated 02 Mar 2008
72
55th
# 570
Rated 21 Mar 2008
76
62nd
Pleasant.
Rated 19 Dec 2008
70
40th
609
Rated 27 Dec 2008
78
51st
Solid little romantic comedy that flopped because of bad timing at the box office. A film about a person who doesn't want to work and earn money (there must be more to life) didn't sit well with a depression ridden society on the verge of WWII.
Rated 16 May 2009
96
98th
I love Cary Grant, and I love Katharine Hepburn but I'm not crazy about either Bringing Up Baby or Philadelphia Story. So I had fairly low expectations for this. But it turned out to be a delight. The dialogue sparkles, the character dynamics are very appealing, and the plot develops naturally. A bit predictably, but naturally. And Edward Everett Horton is fast becoming one of my favorite character actors. This movie made me a smile, and smile a lot.
Rated 25 May 2009
78
60th
Released the same year that Howard Hawks sent them careening through the film that defines screwball comedy, Grant and Hepburn generate flinty sparks in a very familiar comedy of manners. The battle of class consciousness, the misplaced romance, the pithy put-downs are all well-represented. It's solid but dated, bearing some of the stiffness of early Hollywood, especially those films that transported stage plays to the screen.
Rated 15 Jan 2010
71
42nd
581
Rated 21 Nov 2010
98
96th
LOVE! My new favorite.
Rated 17 Dec 2010
88
86th
Predictable, overly dramatic, and corny dialogue don't normally constitute a good or, in this case, great film. But, Hepburn and Grant, along with a few others, elevate this film and story into something that I fell completely and utterly in love with. Hepburn has insane amounts of charisma and makes somewhat stilted dialogue sound as natural as anything, it's strange. I found the main characters ideas on life to be immensely relatable, as money is just as important now as it was then.
Rated 23 Jan 2011
75
48th
Dated trappings and situations aside, this remains a highly enjoyable comedy for fans of Grant and Hepburn, who are both charming. Stagey nature of the film occasionaly feels a bit stodgy, and final resolution is all too predictable, but Grant and Hepburn ultimately win the day. Running gag of Grant the acrobat is very amusing!
Rated 30 Nov 2011
69
38th
#616
Rated 18 Sep 2012
99
97th
Hilarious and jovial. I loved Katherine Hepburn and Cay Grant here.
Rated 07 Oct 2012
70
72nd
Carried entirely by the charm and presence of Cary Grant. Hepburn is, as usual, totally irritable.
Rated 18 Feb 2013
3
59th
I can relate.
Rated 28 May 2013
100
95th
watched: 2013, 2020
Rated 22 Sep 2013
89
97th
88.500
Rated 23 Mar 2014
70
96th
Katharine Hepburn looked half trapped within the play structure of her role. Well, thats the critique for most of the actors here. On the other hand this had the always dynamic Cary Grant. Do I really have to cooperate why thats a good thing? No. He brings the life. But why the hell is this considered a screwball comedy?! It's deeply serious, full of depression. This is a bitter struggle between being oneself or being what someone else wants one to be.
Rated 31 Jul 2014
93
93rd
An unabashedly progressive Hollywood comedy where the most likable character is a drunk? Cukor is sort of amazing.
Rated 22 Sep 2014
82
96th
Romantic comedy from back when romantic comedies were nice. Although I am not convinced by Grant as a backflip-doing free-thinking feller who's not interested in making money, and Hepburn is equally unconvincing dreamy girl, it doesn't hold back sweet story of choosing dreams over practicality for me. Psychology of the rich family relationships rings true. Ned, alcoholic brother, is the most likeable and interesting character.
Rated 24 Feb 2016
18
96th
Star Rating: ★★★★★
Rated 19 Apr 2017
77
49th
These old-timey romantic dramas are often so by-the-book, I can't be bothered with them. So it was pleasing to find that towards the end of Holiday, the main characters enter a grey area of indecision which brings the film back in touch with reality, perhaps even feeling relevant today (if you are in a similar period of life). Cary Grant is always so suave; Hepburn irrepressibly whip-smart. These two conform to these expectations once again and therein lies the delight. The rest is so-so.
Rated 20 Sep 2017
33
32nd
I did like the cheekbones
Rated 11 Mar 2019
89
69th
89.00
Rated 20 Nov 2019
80
68th
Grant and Hepburn's second pairing immediately following "Bringing Up Baby" isn't as manically entertaining as the Hawks's flick, but has the effortless charm that so many comedies of this decade have.
Rated 15 Dec 2020
80
78th
While not as constantly funny as other Grant-Hepburn movies, this one has that eye-winking charm that, although a bit preachy in a few parts, keeps you entertained. I know the "real" story is more important, but I would have loved a spinoff movie about some of the side characters.
Rated 30 Jan 2021
91
91st
Delightful in just about every way. Cukor's got a real feel for developing atmosphere--everything about the extended scene (and really every scene) in the playroom is soaked with yearning for something long past that maybe could be again. Grant is great, Ayres is tragically magnificent, but the superstar here is Hepburn, who I've never liked this much.
Rated 19 Mar 2021
6
44th
Old fashioned feel good fun.
Rated 14 Jun 2021
78
81st
The clash between characters from different backgorunds that get to know their incompatibilities under extreme situations (the circunstance - the party, how fast they wanted to make things happen - is obviously fictitious exaggeration, but it makes the plot more entertaining); great acting. The scene during the party in the room upstairs is incredible, from that point on there's a constant uncomfortable atmosphere. Linda and Ned are such great characters - a life they can't make their own path.
Rated 18 Sep 2021
78
76th
A stirring reminder of how lucky I am not to have been born into stifling wealth
Rated 11 Jan 2024
81
77th
The basic outlines of the story had been done 500 times before and have been done 5000 times since, but it's Cukor, it's Hepburn, and it's Grant. Hard to go wrong, and this one certainly doesn't. Pure classic Hollywood. It's not as funny as their other movie that year--Bringing Up Baby--but it's a feel good enjoyable time.

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